CONNECTICUT CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE

It began as a simple question:  How could the Connecticut Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI) better diagnose and treat children with behavioral health problems?

That question resulted in a $130,000 Connecticut Health Foundation (CT Health) grant in 2001, which led to a $250,000 continuation grant in 2002, enabling CHDI to create the Connecticut Center for Effective Practice (CCEP).

Today, the CCEP is offering new programs that meet the needs of Connecticut children entering or at risk of entering the state's juvenile justice system.  Their needs are detailed in a February 2003 report, "Close to Home:  A Report on Behavioral Health Services for Children in Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System."

CCEP's report presents a variety of recommendations and outlines several intervention methods, which have been repeated successfully.

"These treatments hold great promise," says CCEP Director Robert Franks, Ph.D.  "By releasing this report and letting policy-makers and the public know that effective behavioral health interventions are available and producing results, we hope to be a catalyst for significant reform of juvenile justice practices, such as detention and sending children to costly out-of-home placement."

In addition to CHDI, the CCEP includes a unique collaboration of public, private and academic organizations, such as the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Health Center, the Yale Child Study Center, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and the Court Support Services Division of the Connecticut Judicial Department.  Together, this collaboration is making a difference in the behavioral health services of Connecticut's children.

Website: www.chdi.org